Sarah & Co.

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Without further ado, I present the recipe for the best shake I've ever had, created especially for me by Ashley Anne Fuller. She once heard me say that a lemon meringue pie shake I'd had at Holstein's in Las Vegas was the best thing I'd ever tasted (or something hyperbolic like that) and that after that first taste, Holstein's never had it on the menu again and no one there could remember how to make it (or so they told me). So AA tried to make my shake dreams come true by recreating the magic--AND SHE NAILED IT! Or made it better. I couldn't tell how AA's shake compared with Holstein's when I drank AA's (a) I'd had my first lemon meringue pie shake in 2011, so it'd been a while; and (b) I was too busy saying "oh my goodness" to do much thinking/comparing. But let me tell you this--I don't like lemon meringue pie (nor does Ashley Anne), but we both loved this. And we're still thinking and talking about it.

Blend these ingredients. Add milk or ice cream or lemon or lemon juice or lemon curd until it tastes awesome and is the consistency you want. (Ashley Anne was tweaking the flavor for almost 20 minutes before it tasted like a sweet punch of bright lemony/vanilla magic. Her palate may not be yours, so keep testing/tasting/trying.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a
large mixing bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles tiny
peas. (Or pulse several times in food processor.) Combine egg yolk,
water, and lemon juice with a fork. Sprinkle egg yolk mixture over flour
mixture and stir together with a fork until it forms a ball. (Or pulse
again in food processor until it clumps together.)

Roll out between two pieces of parchment (or on floured
surface), sprinkle with sugar, cut into triangles or other fun shapes,
and bake for 7-8 mins or until golden brown.

I've made this with blueberries and with strawberries, and both pies all times blew everyone away. This is the kind of stuff pie dreams are made of.

Ingredients

5 cups fresh berries, divided (if strawberries, chopped, sliced, or halved)(Tip: Feel free to put more than 2 cups fresh berries into the final pie. You may want more than 5 cups to begin with.)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked

Directions

In a saucepan over
medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water until smooth.
Add 3 cups berries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir
until thickened and bubbly (hangs onto your spoon and viscously drips off of it--pretty syrupy), about 3 minutes.

The Basic Gist
1. Make wafers.
2. While wafers dry/rest/get sampled in your mouth (they are so good!), make pudding.
3. When pudding is set and/or being sampled in your mouth (the pudding is outrageously delicious!), crumble wafers and make pie crust.
4. After crust cools, put pudding in crust.
5. Make whipped cream.
6. Put on top of pie.
7. Eat and die in bliss.

1. Chocolate Wafers:

(adapted from Bubby's Homemade Pies)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa

11/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift
together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside. With an
electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add
the egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated. On low speed, gradually
add the dry ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Shape the
dough into a 2-inch-diameter log. Wrap it well and chill completely—at
least two hours.

Preheat
the oven to 375 F. Slice the dough into 1/8-inch slices and place them 1
inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake them for 8 to 10
minutes, until they smell good and remain firm when lifted with a
spatula.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack, uncovered, overnight or until they are completely dry and wafer-like.

Us
a food processor to crumb the cookies or put the cookies in a
resealable plastic bag and press the air out before sealing. Roll over
the bag of cookies with a rolling pin until they form fine crumbs.

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and yolks in a 3-quart heavy
saucepan until combined well, then add milk in a stream, whisking.
Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and
simmer, whisking, 1 minute (filling will be thick).

Force
filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then whisk in
chocolates, butter, and vanilla. The pudding should still be warm hot
enough to melt the chocolate. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap
(make sure there are no air bubbles between the pudding and the plastic
wrap) and cool completely, about 2 hours.

3. Pie Crust

2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Stir together
crumbs, chocolate, and sugar. Pour hot melted butter over the top and
combine (The butter will melt the chocolate). Firmly press onto the
bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes and before
cooling on rack, use the back of a spoon to press the hot crust back up
the sides of the pan. Cool completely.

Cook chicken, onion, spices, and broth on high
for 3-4 hours (in a crockpot). Shread chicken, and add the rest-- chilies,
beans, sour cream, and cheese. Cook for another 45 mins, and it is
done!

I've also had a lot of success making this on the stove, with varying proportions of things (e.g., much less cheese) and a lot of guessing, in less than an hour (with pre-cooked chicken, I think, like rotisserie). SO so good. Really good. Feel free to season to taste, but do NOT omit the sour cream/greek yogurt. For whatever reason, that's the kicker. I often serve it with fresh cilantro and fresh tomatoes. Tonight I served it over rice. So good.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 C coconut sugar, 1 C agave, 1/2 C buttermilk (or sour raw milk, as I used), 2 eggs, 1 generous t cinnamon, and 1 t vanilla. Combine with chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture and mix very well. Pour into pan and bake 15-20 minutes or until a pick comes out clean. (You want it to look set but still moist.) Five minutes before cake is done, making frosting.

Sunday, March 02, 2014

I made the below biscuits for breakfast on Saturday. And you know what? They were perfect and easy. Turns out, with enough butter, even 100% whole wheat biscuits can be light, fluffy, fast, and flake-tastic.

I found this recipe just by googling. Sometimes the internet really provides.

Super Easy Whole Wheat Biscuits

Serves: 8-10 Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 cup milk (any kind)

Instructions

In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well with whisk or fork.

Cut the ½ stick butter into little pea-sized pieces and then mix the pieces into the flour mixture.

Using a fork, try
to mash the butter pieces as you mix it together with the flour until it
resembles coarse crumbs. It is okay if the outcome just looks like the
same pea-sized pieces of butter covered with flour.

Then pour in the
milk and mix it all together. Knead the dough with your hands 8 to 10
times and then turn out onto a counter or cutting board.

Pat it out flat with your hands until the dough is a somewhat even ¾-inch thickness (sprinkle with a little flour if necessary).

Turn a drinking
glass upside down and cut out biscuit rounds.

Then put them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sunday, February 09, 2014

With the recent release of the movie "Mitt" (available on Netflix),
by the man who did "New York Doll" (a truly awesome film and one of my
two favorite documentaries), I've been reflecting on
the-Mormons-and-the-media-years of 2011-2012. I suspect that Mormons
will be in and out of the media limelight for the rest of forever, but
those were two critical and high-profile years. In retrospect, I am
grateful for the way so many non-Mormons stood up for the LDS community
and our place as part of the religious fabric of this country. I was
particularly glad to hear people say things publicly that we have been
trying for years to get others to hear. This line from the Economist
comes to mind: "Mormons have always professed their faith to be
Christian, and there is a consensus, I think, that they believe
themselves to be so. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the
profession of faith should be enough." http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/the-economist-mormons-are-christians

I
love the teachings of Jesus, in particular His undogged efforts to
teach His disciples about how wide His tent is. He went out of His way
to reach out to those that God-fearing people intentionally
shunned--the Samaritans, the publicans, the adulterous, the leprous. I love that when the disciples wanted to bring fire down
to destroy a town that had not allowed the Savior to stay there, Jesus
explained that that was not His style. "Ye know not what manner of
spirit ye are of," He said. "For the Son of man is not come to destroy
men’s lives, but to save them." (Luke 9:55-56.) Shortly thereafter (if
we assume Luke was written chronologically), Jesus told the story of the
Good Samaritan. I like to think that, in addition to answering the
lawyer's question, He was telling that specific parable also to His
disciples, knowing that they too needed to learn again of His ways and
His power--that he came to heal and to care for and to include. I know
that Jesus looks upon sin with no degree of allowance, but I also
believe that He will run to anyone and everyone who turns to Him. When
we turn to Him and truly repent, He takes our sins from us. And we
don't need His allowance for sin (He does not allow it--He washes it
away!) because we have His mercy and His grace.

As a
Mormon, I may not worship and pray the same way that other Christians do
(although my non-Mormon friends who've come to church with me have
often been surprised at how traditional the services are), and I may not
envision God the same way that other Christians do. But I treasure the
words of Christ. I know that He is the Son of God and my Savior.
Without Him, I would not have anything--not this beautiful world to live
in, not the hope of peace in this life or the next, not the ability to
repent for what I've done wrong or to be healed from what I and others
have done to me. I believe that, just as He reaches out, welcomes, and
heals me, He wants me to reach out, welcome, and heal others, openly and
generously. And I'm trying to (most days). I believe that is what
Christians do. I am a Christian, and I'm trying to be a good
Christian. And I feel keenly that Christ is helping me serve others in His name. I am glad there are others who hear my profession of
faith--and that of other Mormons--and open their tents to welcome us in.

1
tbsp. garam masala (or, if you don't have any garam masala, as I
didn't, use a mix of mostly cumin, some cardamom, black pepper,
cinnamon, and a little bit of nutmeg and cloves)

1 tbsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. curry powder

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat
oven to 400 degrees F. In bowl, combine cauliflower florets,
chickpeas, spices, salt, and about half of the olive oil. In large
sheet tray, pour the rest of the olive oil (about 3 T). Put oiled sheet
into preheated oven for 2-3 minutes, just until the oil is hot but
before it smokes or changes color. Once oil in sheet tray sizzles when a
drop of water is added, add the chickpea/cauliflower mixture. Spread
it around, so you have one layer (or as close to it as possible). Put
in oven, stirring occasionally (but not more than once every 5 minutes),
until chickpeas are roasted and largely crispy on the outside,
about 30 minutes.

Once chickpeas and cauliflower are roasted, remove from oven. Mix
with fresh lemon juice. Salt to taste. Add fresh parsley, if you have
it. Or fresh mint might be delicious. Serve with cooked quinoa,
roasted squash, lettuce, or other side. Add a dollop of plain Greek
yogurt for creaminess, chunks of avocado, and/or pomegranate seeds.